Wild Ohio Brewing Black Cherry Bourbon Tea Beer

Black Cherry Bourbon Tea Beer

By Wild Ohio Brewing Co.

This is the second gluten free tea beer I’ve reviewed by Wild Ohio Brewing Company. (The first one was for their Peach Tea Beer.) Today I’ll be tasting the gluten free Black Cherry Bourbon Tea Beer. Like the others, this beer is packaged in 12 ounce cans.

Wild Ohio offers a variety 12-pack that contains this one (Black Cherry Bourbon), along with the Blueberry, Blood Orange Tangerine, and Mango flavors as well! You can order it online here. It’s a convenient little selection. I believe you can also purchase these tea beers in single flavor 6-packs.

But can we just talk about the ABV for a second?!

The most shocking part about this beer is its whopping 9% ABV. WHOA! That seems pretty high for a tea beer, so I’m instantly wondering how that will come through in the tasting experience. To be honest though, the Peach Tea Beer was 8% ABV and you couldn’t tell at all.

This fermented tea is brewed with cane sugar, green/black tea, and fruit juice. Interestingly enough, this product is made in Middletown Ohio, which means they share a home with Rolling Mill Brewing Company. So…it would appear that Ohio’s access to gluten free alternatives is growing. (Or at the very least, Middletown’s is.)

Keep reading to hear what I thought of this beverage. There’s a beer pour video below too, but it’s a sped-up version of the pour. If you prefer to see it in real-time and with sound, check out our Patreon, where we post additional content and exclusive videos for Patrons. All beer pour videos are accessible to Pint-size and Bomber-level Patrons. :)

Ok, time to give this beer a look.

The Taste Test

Black Cherry Bourbon Tea Beer

The Black Cherry Bourbon Barrel Tea Beer pours with a crystal clear cranberry red color. The consistency of the pour was similar to that of a cider, obvious carbonation, but not much head. (Expected.) I did manage to draw a thin head by pouring it roughly down the center of the glass.

It smells sweet, and heavily of cherries. It tastes that way too! There is a faint tartness to the fruit character, but it’s anything but dry. I’d place the sweetness level at high for this one. The black cherry and bourbon barrel flavors are smooth and delicious, and the carbonation is lovely. It’s not too bubbly or syrupy. I think if it were, it would make this taste more like an (alcoholic) italian soda than a “tea beer”.

The craziest thing about this 9% ABV beverage is that you can not tell at all that it’s 9%. Maybe a gentle kick at the end of the tasting experience, but nothing that could be construed as “heat” from alcohol. I felt the same about the Peach one. Seriously…what is this wizardry going on over at Ohio Brewing that allows them to make their alcohol seemingly undetectable. It’s bizarre, and wildly impressive. (See what I did there?)

Remember that when you’re reaching for one of these tea beers, you’re reaching for a beverage that could be up to double the ABV of your typical go-to beer. Just keep that in mind, especially if you have driving to do afterwards. These ones will sneak up on ya!

I recommend this tea beer for those who enjoy the flavor complexities of bourbon cherry and who can tolerate substantial sweetness. I don’t know how many of these I would want to drink in one setting, but honestly at 9% ABV, I don’t need to drink very many!

I still have a few more Wild Ohio Brewing flavors to review on this blog. Stay tuned for the Mango, Blood Orange Tangerine, and Blueberry (which seems to be the public favorite). If there’s one in particular you’d like to see released next, leave a comment below to let me know which one. I’ll do my best to heed requests. :)